Professor Ioannis Kokkoris interviewed by Voice of America on the capital controls in Greece

Thursday 2 July 2015

Ioannis Kokkoris, Professor of Law and Economics at QMUL, is interviewed by Voice of America after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he will respect the outcome of an upcoming referendum on his country's economic future if voters back a new round of European austerity measures that he opposes.

Capital controls were inevitable after the European Central Bank decided not to continue the liquidity lifeline it’s been giving Greek banks, said Professor Ioannis Kokkoris.

“Apparently banks have between 1 and 3 billion (euros) left. A billion went out on Friday, a billion on Saturday, so if they did not put any capital controls, banks would be completely empty,” said Kokkoris.

Early polls show a small majority in favor of agreeing to the deal offered by the EU.

Kokkoris thinks the next few days will be crucial.

“If we see any kind of social unrest, I think that will definitely swing the vote to a ‘yes’. If things remain calm with the banks, if salaries are paid on time, if pensions are paid on time, then we still will be looking at a very close call,” said Kokkoris.